Woot! My name is Jason. I am a full time pharmacist. Photography started out as a hobby to document memorable moments in the family. It eventually evolved into a part time job. I have been shooting for about 3 years now. Started out with my first ever camera Nikon D80, I have now progressed to Canon 5DMkII as my main gear. I have tried various genre of photography from portraiture, events, landscape and weddings. I also love to shoot using the traditional film medium. I cant resist the magical moment of producing a print using traditional darkroom method. This blog is the place where I ll share my work and rants. Hope you guys will enjoy the stay here.

It s officially One month and one Week old. Yes. Time flies. Baby Nathania has gained weight and length. She is about 3.9 kg and 52 cm now. Yes…The benefit of breast milk. The only thing with breastfeeding is, you are like a portable vending machine. The bonding between mommy and baby is at another level all together. I kid you not. Yee Woon told me the milk will leak out on its own whenever she thinks of the baby. I guess this is how mother nature works. I m trying hard to have a good bond with little Nathania. Can’t nurse her of course. But I let her lie on my chest or tummy and sooth her to sleep. She kinda likes that. I guess a big tummy comes in handy in such situation. It ‘s funny, but she cries every now and then. I think I would rate her as a semi high need baby. It ‘s especially difficult at night when she needs someone to carry and sooth her all the time. This can be tiring as whenever you try to lay her on the bed, she will cry. Yes..Fatigue. Both mental and physical. Sometimes I pity Yee Woon as she has to wake up a couple of time at night to feed the baby and sooth her back to sleep. But I guess it is all worthwhile when you know the baby will be healthy. Little Nathania loves people who gives her full attention. Mom and mom in law love talking to her. She takes it all. Cantonese, Mandarin, English and Hakka. Hahaha. Here is another picture of her sleeping peacefully.

Third blog post for the night. Baby is sleeping. So I took the the op to go through my Flickr’s sets. Was browsing my Crossing Bridges 5 set. Found some pics which I think its worth sharing (Although some may beg to differ). Anyway as usual, did some conversion, Yes!~ I am a Black and White freak. This shot was done with Lighting Guru Mr Ted Adnan. Besides being an accomplished strobist, to my surprise, Ted is equally knowledgeable in Landscaping. The idea of using the trees and branches as frames was cool. Only thing I had to figure was how to balance the exposure. I think I used a Gradual Neutral Density filter. Cant remember how many stop it was. Must dig my archive again. I think I still have some presentable shots in the hard disk. With my minimal photochoping skills, I hope to take better pics and process better pictures next time.

Good Evening folks!~ Crossing Bridges 7 has just been announced on PhotoMalaysia. This year destination is Philippines. Organized by 5 online photography forums, the annual event is exclusive to only 15 chosen photographers from the each country (Singapore-Clubsnap, Malaysia-Photomalaysia, Indonesia-Fotografer.net, Vietnam-Photo.vn and Philippines-Photomanila.com). Crossing Bridges is an annual photography trip aimed at fostering relationships with photographers from around the various online Photo Forums in Asia. This year’s trip will be about 8 days covering Cebu, Bacolod and Iloilo. Don’t ask me where are those places. I m stoked up about this trip and applied because I have not been to Philippines before in my life. So lets hope the Photomalaysia admins consider my application.

In 2008, my application to join Crossing Bridges 5 in Cambodia was approved. My first shooting trip overseas. Overjoy and unprepared actually. I went there but didnt really shoot much. Maybe it was the culture shock. First time shooting with so many photographers. The more out going and adventurous photographers had a field day shooting in Cambodia. I came back with a few keepers. This young monk’s picture is one of them. Thanks to good direction from Dr Teh, we got the young monk to sit at the staircase. Up the attap or ceiling, the light rays were shining down. He looked up and voila. You have a good catch light in the eyes. He smiled and I pressed the shutter. Kee Chak!~

Morning all, Little Nathania is almost one month old. Time flies. Yee Woon has been a very good mother. Little Nathania is on Full Time Breast milk formula. Its the best milk in the world. Full of nutrients and its able to cover all the essential needs of Little Nathania for 6 months. It s not easy to breast feed the baby full time. Yee Woon has to wake up a couple of times at night to feed Nathania. I think she is deprived of the minimum 7 hours sleep 😛 I tried to sleep in the room with the baby. It lasted a couple of nights only. Hahahaha. I moved to the hall to sleep. The other night, I tried again. But alas, it didnt last. Mummy decided to bring baby out the hall to sleep. Baby was in a cranky mode. I think she is too used to being cradled to sleep. Here is a pic of her in her cranky mood.

Good afternoon all!~ It s Saturday!~ Nathania is officially 5 and 1/2 days old. Yes, it s all exciting to being a father. Am gonna talk a bit being a father for the first time. To be honest, it never crossed my mind that one day I ll get married and start a family. If you know me, you will understand my concerns with my family. But that s another story. I have learn to accept and move on. First thing that most new parents do when they have a newborn in the family, is to register them with Jabatan Pendaftaran Negara (JPN). I did Nathania’s at Kepong JPN. My dad went along with me. According to him, registering a baby is different now compared to the old days. Gone are the days where you are only required to produce a declaration chit from a ‘doctor’ or ‘clinic’. The following items are a MUST to bring during registration:

Filled up form (with the given name, complete with parents’ detail)

Original and photocopied Marriage Certificate

Original and photocopied ICs (Yes, both mom and dad even though mom is not there)

Original and photocopied check up and follow up book (Hospitals and clinics)

Delivery note from the hospital

All information will be verified at the counter. It s a good move from JPN. The number of ‘foreigners’ ending up as Malaysians seems to be on the increasing trend in recent years. All newborns has to be registered as soon as possible. I read somewhere there is a penalty or fine for late registrations. A nice birth cert is issued upon confirmation. A baby myCard will be issued within 3 weeks.

For newborns, you can choose between breastfeeding or formula milk. We opted for breastfeeding. Breast milk is the best stuff you can give to your newborn. During the first 3 days, the baby gets the best nutrition and defense system via the yellowish substance called colostrum. It s good stuff as people pay premiums to buy those commercial ‘Colostrum’ available at your local pharmacies. It may seems little but rest assured, despite the small amount, baby is getting enough for the first 3 days. Loss in weight is common. Don’t be surprised by the low urine output. Its common. Nathania wet one diaper a day for the first 3 days. She only had her first poo on the fourth day. Milk production goes full scale on Day 4. You will need to let the baby suckle on the nipple every two hours or so. This is to maintain stimulation to ensure ample milk production. You may notice milk trickling out from one of your breast as the baby nurse on the other. This is common too. Hahahaha. I was wondering by my wife’s shirt is all wet. You can alleviate the problem by using nursing pads. But according to a fellow pharmacist of mine who gave birth recently, the best method is to pump the milk out. I am using a manual pump instead of electrical. Regrets..Should have gotten an electrical version.

Nathania’s poo poo is healthy yellow colour. Nice!!~ Hehehehe. Some folks say that if you take breast milk, poo production is low. I cant verify that yet. But according to mum, it s easier on the bowel movement compared to commercial milk powder. Some may be too rich in iron hence hard stool. Yesterday, I had a huge scare. Baby Nathania wet her nappy. When mummy did the nappy change, she saw blood stain on the nappy. I was shocked and worried sick when I saw that. Did a quick check with mummy, “Is baby crying?”, “Fever?”, “Unusual movement?” Thank God no. Made a quick call to Dr Teh (By the way, Dr Teh is a pediatrician besides a great photographer). Dr Teh, thanks for answering my queries! According to him, it s common for baby girl to have menses during the first weeks. Now we know!~ Hahaha. Plenty to learn. Baby’s face is changing everyday. Here is a pic shot on Day 4. Had some guidance on BW conversion from MunKeat (Do check out his work. Absolutely love his vintage conversion). Same as photography. Its about a journey rather than a destination. I got to practice more Photoshop. Signing off for now. Ciao.